Something Wicca Another Way Goes
by writerchic16
Summary: While flipping through the Book of Shadows, Paige accidentally summons Prue from a very different alternate reality.
1. Prologue

**Something Wicca Another Way Goes**

Summary: While flipping through the Book of Shadows, Paige accidentally summons a Prue from a very different alternate reality.

A/N: Just to let you all know, this might not be updated for a while. I'm currently working on two other chapter stories which are only half-way done. _Don't press that 'back' button just yet_, though, as I'm excited about this story and might make room for it in between, and will continue with passion once the other two are done. Even now, I should be finishing an essay, but this prologue has been driving me absolutely nuts.

Also, those of you might remember my one-shot, "Something Wicca This Way Came." Though this is not a continuation, per se, that piece could be thought of as a companion, thus the similar "Something Wicca…" title. Meaning, that one-shot actually happened in this story. Confused? Eh, just ignore everything I just said, it's not that important anyway.

One last note then I promise I'll get on with it. I'm still planning this story, and in order to correctly plot the other timeline I have to get the show timeline right. If anyone wants to help not with writing but with providing show facts as I need them, I'd be eternally grateful.

* * *

**Halliwell Manor, 2011**

Her arms full of grocery bags, Paige managed to unlock the manor door with her free hand, push it open with her hip, and stumble into the foyer. She, Piper and Phoebe were having their first dinner together in almost a whole month, and she had been looking forward to it for just as long. "Piper! Hey, Piper! I did the grocery shopping you asked me to do. Help me lug all this stuff in!"

"Hey Paige."

Paige looked up to see not her sister, but her brother-in-law standing in the living room doorway. When Leo took most of the bags from her, she gave him a hug in greeting. "Hey Leo! I've missed you and everyone so much!"

"We've missed you too," Leo assured her. "How's Henry and Henry Jr.?"

Smiling, Paige answered, "They're both great, taking the night without Mommy to do some male bonding. Honestly, I'm happy they didn't want to come. They might've gotten a little uncomfortable once the three of us started the good gossip."

Leo chuckled, balancing some of the bags on his knee. "Speaking of which, the boys and I are getting out of here too. I'm taking them to a baseball game with their grandpa – Victor's meeting us there. But they're in the living room if you want to say hi while I drop these off in the kitchen."

"Of course! When do I ever not want to see my nephews?" Paige replied, setting the bags she'd been left holding down while Leo headed towards the kitchen. Entering the living room, she laughed as she saw an eight-year-old Wyatt orbing around the room, with seven-year-old Chris struggling to keep up.

Paige watched for a moment in amusement, knowing it was a game Wyatt had invented called "Follow the Orb." More often than not, Wyatt started out the winner, but then Chris' determination would lead him to victory. Holding out her hand she called, "Boys!"

The two surprised brothers stopped mid-orb and fell to the ground in a heap. Glaring at his aunt, Chris whined, "Aunt Paige, what'd you do that for? A few more minutes and I would've caught him!"

"In your dreams, shrimp," Wyatt teased, referring to his small height advantage over his brother. "You should be thanking her for saving you from losing…_again_."

Chris redirected his glare to his older brother. "You only won that one time because I mis-orbed and crashed into that floor lamp."

'Not my fault you're hopeless when it comes to aim," Wyatt taunted again.

Paige put two fingers to her mouth and whistled. When they both turned to her, she said, "Hey! You haven't seen me for a month, and this is the welcome I get? Come here, you two!"

The boys resisted a bit when she pulled them both into a hug, but were excited to see her nonetheless. Confused, Wyatt asked, "Are you coming to the game too?"

Smirking, Chris retorted, "No, you idiot. She's here to talk with Mommy and Aunt Phoebe about girly stuff. That's why Dad's taking us to the game."

"Chris!" Paige exclaimed, chiding him for what he'd called his brother.

Chris' face turned red. "Sorry, Aunt Paige…and Wyatt…"

"Good, now you two have fun at your game," Paige said, kissing them both on top of their heads when she spotted Leo coming back into the room. "Do you know if your aunt Phoebe is here yet?"

Shaking his head, Wyatt answered, "No, Mommy said that Aunt Phoebe would be a little late, 'cause she's waiting for Uncle Coop to get back to watch Prue."

"Oh, okay then. See you when you when you get home!" Paige called as she went into the foyer, knowing both she and Phoebe were planning on sleeping over, just like old times. Prue was Phoebe's four-year-old daughter.

Once she reached the hallway, Paige hesitated before going into the kitchen. Piper was on the phone. While that wouldn't have stopped Paige normally, she'd heard a line or two of the conversation. Piper was talking to Phoebe about Prue, the one who passed away ten years ago.

"_Yes, Phoebe, I know the anniversary is coming up…you think I would forget that?" Piper was saying, her tone filled with a mix of exasperation and sadness. "I know, I miss her too, Prue was a great big sister…it was ten years ago, Pheebs, we've both done our best to get over it…of course I'll never forget her! How could I? You're being ridiculous…we've tried summoning her spirit, and it hasn't worked in the last five years, what makes you think it will work now…alright, I'll think about it, but don't say anything in front of Paige. You know she still tenses up whenever we talk about Prue…what do you mean, you don't know if you can get through tonight without talking about her? Get your butt over here! Paige will be so disappointed…hell, _I'll_ be so disappointed…alright, see you in a half hour."_

Paige would've dropped the groceries if she hadn't been so intent on not alerting Piper of her presence. Quietly putting the bags on the floor, she turned around and ran up the stairs to the attic.

Wiping a tear from her eye, she closed the attic door behind her and went to the Book. How could she have been so stupid? Did she really think her sisters _weren't_ constantly thinking about Prue, talking about Prue…But what hurt the most was that they'd tried to _summon_ her spirit without even telling Paige. Didn't they think that Paige would've wanted to meet the lost sister? All she ever heard was how wonderful Prue was, how great a witch Prue was…it would be nice to get a chance to meet the witch's shoes she'd been trying to fill for the past ten years.

Now she was looking for the summoning spell. She hadn't used the spell in a few months, and needed to refresh her memory on how many candles to use.

Though she wasn't going to try and summon Prue. While she was angry, she knew her sisters deserved to be the ones to summon her. No, Paige was going to call for her grams. Often, when she was distressed about anything, and her sisters were too busy, she'd call for Penny to vent. Talking to her grandmother just made everything seem better, especially when she needed someone who wouldn't be afraid to be blunt. Giving a small smile, Paige remembered the one time Henry walked into their room to find her talking to Grams. The poor guy had been so stunned that Penny had an easy time of it ripping him to shreds.

When she had almost reached the spell, the pages started to turn in the other direction. "Whatever it is," Paige muttered, "Not now, Grams, okay? I need to talk to you." Still, the pages kept resisting whenever Paige tried to take control of them again. "Grams! Will you stop being so stubborn?"

Paige flipped the pages with all her might, only for them to be violently flung to another spell. The ghostly voice of her grandmother resounded through the attic. _"Read the spell, Paige. _Now_."_

"Oh, fine, be that way," Paige grumbled. Clearing her throat, she chanted,

"'Powers of the witches rise

Course unseen across the skies

Come to me who calls you near

Come to me and settle here'"

Staring at the page, Paige tried to figure out why Grams would ask her to read the "To Find a Lost Witch" spell. It slowly registered that whatever magic she had sent out into the world would produce some kind of result. _Why the hell didn't I stop and think about this first? Or get my sisters? Why did Grams…_

"Paige?"

Paige's head snapped up from the Book at the voice that addressed her…and stared in complete shock. The woman standing in front of her she'd recognize in a heartbeat thanks to all the pictures and home movies, though the designer jeans and expensive-looking blouse threw her off a bit. Clearing her throat, she sputtered, "P-Prue?"

"Well don't just stand there," Prue Halliwell retorted, going to stand by Paige in front of the Book. "We've got to vanquish that demon's sorry butt before he realizes I'm not where I'm supposed to be. Where's Piper? She had to be home to let you in…."

_Oh my God. What have I done?_ Paige thought, frozen with shock. When Prue narrowed her eyes at her, Paige gave her a weak smile and ran to the attic door. "Piper! Get up here!"


	2. Prologue, Part 2

A/N: Chapters will normally be longer than this, but I wanted to incorporate this now, so call it the second prologue, if you will.

And thanks for the reviews, everyone! Glad you like it!

Ugh, I went over this when I woke up the next day...it was enough to break my poor grammar freak heart. Sorry about that, and I've fixed the errors I could catch.

* * *

_**The Trendsetter **_**Magazine Headquarters, 2011**

**In An Alternate Reality**

"Give me something else," Prue Halliwell-Morgan instructed, her camera not pointed at the model but held at her side. A renowned photographer for a fashion magazine, she demanded nothing but the best from the young, feminine models put in front of her. If that meant telling them to pose in a million different ways before she even bothered to take a picture, then so be it.

Instead of doing as told, the frustrated model on the photo shoot set crossed her arms. "Prudence, I'm trying as hard as I can."

"There are dozens of young girls out there exactly like you who are willing to try much harder," Prue snapped, taking the coffee given to her by an assistant and drinking a long sip.

Her face pale, the model stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, it's just that we've been doing this for so long already…"

"Fine, we'll take a five minute break," Prue sighed. "After that, I _better_ get some good shots, understand?" When the model gave a meek nod, Prue went off the set to her private office.

Prue closed the door behind her, still gulping down the coffee. It was barely noon, but she was on her third cup. Putting the mug down on her desk, she noticed that her voice mail light was blinking on her phone. She pressed the "play" button and went through some mail while she listened.

"_Hey Prudence, it's Charlie. Just want to let you know that I can't make it home for dinner tonight. I'm really sorry, but I've been asked to do another movie. Yeah, I know, I agreed to slow down a little bit since we haven't been able to spend a lot of time together, but this could mean _a lot_ of money for us, sweetie. We'll talk about it tonight when I get home, I promise. Have a good day at work."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Prue muttered, already putting the message from her husband to the back of her mind. She'd met movie actor Charles Morgan a few years ago, when she had to do a photo shoot for him. He'd been hell to work with, so she'd fallen for him instantly. The two became the "It" couple almost the second they were seen in public together at a café, and were married less than a year later. Now, while the limelight shined on younger stars, Prue and Charlie were just trying to make room for each other in their hectic schedules.

The next voice that came over the machine was a woman's.

"_Hey Prue…I mean, Prudence…it's Piper. I've just been thinking about you lately and wanted to say hi. I realize how busy you are, but I miss you. You can make room for your little sister, right? Ha ha, just kidding, not trying to guilt trip you or anything…unless it happened to work…So, um, it would be great if we could maybe have lunch some time this month if you manage to clear up a few minutes. Leo and the kids say hi, I love you, and…call me back, please?"_

Prue stared at the answering machine for a moment, her hands shaking as they still held the half-open mail. Lowering herself into her desk chair, she threw the mail into a paper holder and put her head in her hands.

_Oh, Piper_, she thought, guilt creeping up on her. _You never give up on me, do you? Why can't you just leave me alone and spare yourself the heartache? Be like Paige. She doesn't even call me on my birthday anymore._

Just for the hell of it, Prue threw out her hand. A paper weight flew across the room and crashed into a file cabinet.

"Prudence, are you alright?"

Crap, one of the assistants must've heard the sound. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…dropped something."

Once again left alone, she marveled at the sensation of using her power. It'd been maybe…a couple of months since she last even _thought_ of magic? The brief rush of energy felt good, but…what was the point of using her powers when she wasn't expected to save innocents anymore?

Magic was also the one thing keeping her close to her sisters, so using them brought up painful memories of how close they used to be. And…Phoebe.

For the millionth time Prue thought of how unfair it had been for her baby sister to die at such a young age. And for the millionth time, she forced herself to think of something else.

_Look at you,_ Prue chided, leaning back on her office chair. _Still mourning one sister, while pushing away the remaining two. You should be ashamed of yourself._

With newfound determination she picked up the phone and dialed the Manor's number. One ring…two…three…then to voicemail. "Hey Piper, it's Pruden…Prue. I got your message and just wanted to call you back – "

"_Prue?"_

"Piper, hi!" Prue greeted. "So, um, how are you doing?"

"_Great. P3 is doing well, the kids can't wait for summer vacation…really, the biggest news here is that little Phoebe just lost her first tooth yesterday. Pretty boring compared to what you're used to, I'm sure."_

"No, no, of course not! That's wonderful," Prue sighed, actually feeling somewhat envious. Sometimes Prue wished she lived the normal life of her sister, her biggest concern being a parent teacher conference or what to make for dinner that night.

"_Thanks. What's new with you? I saw you on that talk show interview the other day. You looked fantastic, as always."_

Prue blushed. "Oh, that. Thanks. It was totally off the top of my head though, as I had so much other stuff going on I just completely forgot about it."

"_Sure you did. If I was scheduled to appear on TV, I'd be able to think of nothing else the entire month before. So, um, about lunch…"_

"Forget lunch. Dinner," Prue interrupted. "A whole, long dinner. At any ridiculously expensive restaurant you choose, my treat. Just the two Halliwell sisters."

"_Oh, wow. Are you sure you can schedule that in?"_

"Even if I can't, I'll make room," Prue promised, already looking over her weekly planner. "How does next Fri…no, wait…um, how about the next…oh, no, never mind that…a ha! I'm free on Thursday night in three weeks."

"_That sounds good, then. I can't wait to see you!"_

"Me neither," Prue confessed, realizing just how much she missed her sister. "Call me on my cell during the next few days with what restaurant you want to eat at."

"_I will. Talk to you later, Prue…I love you."_

"Yeah, you too," Prue replied. She hung up the phone, took a few more sips of her coffee, and went back to work.

Much later that day – it was pitch black outside –Prue walked across the deserted parking garage toward her sports car. After all the demons she, Piper, and Paige vanquished, she wasn't afraid of darkened areas. Of course, it didn't mean she didn't glance over her shoulder for demons every so often.

She almost reached her car when she thought she heard a noise. Telling herself to stay calm, she turned around. While demons didn't attack anymore, once in a while one popped up to ruin her day.

"Alright, whatever you are, stop being a coward and get it over with," Prue ordered, holding up her hands.

There was quiet…then a tall man dressed in a business suit emerged from the shadows. "Hello, Prudence. Jumpy, aren't we?"

Prue realized it was Mr. Bates, one of her new bosses. Realizing how stupid she must have sounded, Prue stuttered, "U-uh, yeah, I guess I had one too many cups of coffee today."

"Sounds like it. But I'm curious. What did you mean by 'whatever'?" Mr. Bates asked, looking at Prue with confusion.

Shrugging helplessly, Prue answered, "I-I ah…well you never know. Could by a guy, or a dog…I think someone spotted a wolf recently…"

"You were about to take on a wolf with your bare hands?" Mr. Bates replied, an amused smirk on his face.

"Well, it's a natural reaction. I don't exactly keep a knife on me." _Anymore,_ Prue added, concealing a smirk of her own. "You're full of questions, Mr. Bates. Though I have to wonder what you're doing here this time of night, when there are no other cars around."

"Because…it's the most convenient place to get rid of a Charmed One like you."

Before the words had registered, Prue was telekinetically thrown into her car, slumping to the parking garage floor. Half unconscious, she could only watch while the demon…or warlock, whatever he was… chanted a spell, making gestures with his hands.

_Here and now I call upon my strongest power,_

_To open a portal to a plane other than ours._

_Who I put in will stay until I demand,_

_To bring her to this plane again._

A large rectangle opened in the still air of the garage, its interior a swirling purple vortex. Prue felt herself being pulled and struggled to resist, but the force overpowered her and she blacked out as she was enveloped by purple light.

When she was eventually able to find strength to open her eyes, Prue found herself flat on her back in a field of wildflowers. Struggling to sit up, she put a hand to her spinning head as she took in what just happened.

She couldn't believe it. After five long years of a demon-free existence, evil chose _now_ to put her life through a blender. The one day she talked to Piper, the one day she used her power.

_Okay, what to do next…_Prue thought, dusting herself off as she got to her feet and breathing a small sigh of relief when she saw no grass stains on her two-hundred-dollar jeans. Keeping her breath even, she took in her surroundings.

Various flowers stretched as far as the eye could see, the horizon only broken by a pond to her right. To her left, the flowers mixed with a forest full of tall, ancient-looking leafy trees. And she was all alone save for the birds flying overhead. It was a virtual heaven.

But instead of peace, panic filled her heart.

_Oh crap, I died._

_I hate it when that happens._

But…wait. If the creature _had_ killed her, he wouldn't have bothered with the fancy spell, just done it with a fireball or an athame. Come to think of it, what was that spell…

_To open a portal to a plane other than ours_

_So, I'm…on another plane of existence?_ Prue thought with more than a little frustration. It'd be better if she _were_ dead; she could just move on to the afterlife. Now, she had to concentrate on finding a way out of there. Or spend eternity waiting for Piper or Paige to first realize that she was gone, then figure out a way to bring her back.

She'd have a better chance trying to find a way out herself.

Suddenly a breeze drifted through the air, accompanied by a familiar voice…

"'Powers of the witches rise

Course unseen across the skies

Come to me who calls you near

Come to me and settle here'"

Prue stood there in confusion as she heard the spell. She _knew_ that voice…from somewhere…

Well, she'd have to figure that out later. Because at that moment, the scene around her was changing to one that resembled the Manor attic.

* * *

A/N: Just to let you know, I wrote most of this at three in the morning, so sorry if there's anything wrong with it. And I made up the spell the creature uses, though I'm not a poet and shouldn't try to be one. Still, please don't copy and paste somewhere without permission (though I doubt you'd want to). 


	3. Chapter 1

A/N: Wow, thanks for all the reviews! I'm flattered, and if this site let me make a smiley face emoticon I would type it. I'm glad you guys think the premise is original, because I know the concept of "Prue coming back" has been done every which way possible. Anyway, thanks again, you all are great!

So, after that nice thank you, I hope you'll forgive me if there's a long time between updates (insert sad face emoticon here). At the moment I am a sophomore college student swamped with work (why do midterms all have to happen at the same time? Ugh!), and the only reason I'm able to post what I do is because I am an expert procrastinator. Hopefully once in a while I'll have an emotional breakdown from studying so much and take a fanfiction break for my sanity's sake (I know, "what sanity?" It's a figure of speech).

With that in mind, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Normal Universe**

As Paige's call echoed down the stairs, Piper had been in the kitchen going through the groceries Leo brought in. When the sound reached her ears, the carton of apple juice she'd been holding fell to the floor as she dashed into the foyer. Her panic increased ten-fold when she saw the abandoned groceries. _Oh, God. Why does this have to happen now, after no demons for five years?_ She thought, forcing herself to stay calm while she bounded the stairs two at a time on the way to the attic.

"Paige! Paige, honey, I'm coming!" Piper shouted at the top of her lungs, her arms already held up in preparation of having to blast a demon to bits. Finally getting close enough to slam the attic door open, she ran into the room. "Okay, what…."

The question died on her lips when she took in the scene before her. Paige was standing halfway between the door and the Book, a helpless look on her face.

And standing at the Book…was Prue.

Her eyes wide with amazement, she stared at Paige for an explanation.

Paige shrugged. "Uh…oops?"

Shock overcoming her whole body, Piper inched her way closer to the stand. The young woman with her hand on a page of the Book _was_ Prue, she was sure of it. True, this Prue was giving her a look that clearly said, "What are you staring at me like that for?" and wore an outfit that the Prue she knew could never afford. But…she couldn't be a shape shifting demon because she was so close to the Book, which would've repelled her instantly if she wasn't who she appeared to be. Not daring to get her hopes up, Piper managed to ask, "P-Prue? Is that you?"

"Very funny. That's just hilarious, Piper," Prue retorted, returning to her search through the Book. "Look, I'm sorry I haven't been around much, but can we put whatever resentment we have against each other aside for now? I know I said it's a demon, and I thought it might've been a shape-shifter, or a half-human like Cole, but it can be a warlock too…what the hell are you doing?"

During her rant, Piper had run over to her older sister and thrown her arms around her. Now she was holding onto Prue as tight as she could. "Oh my God, I missed you so much!"

"Missed me?" Prue asked in confusion, putting a comforting arm around her apparently hysterical sister. "Why are you acting…"

But Piper was already going off on an emotional tangent. "I needed you, Prue. You were the strong one. Leo should've healed you first, but he healed me because I'm his stupid wife…I'm sorry," Piper sobbed. "I love you _so_ much."

"Um, thanks, sis, I love you too," Prue replied, forcing Piper to loosen her grip. "Paige, what is wrong with her?"

"Well, I'm guessing that she missed you. Since, you know, the whole death thing," Paige answered with equal bewilderment.

Prue raised an eyebrow. "_Death_ thing? What's going on with you two?"

Wiping tears from her eyes, it began to dawn on Piper that this was _not_ the Prue she knew. Either that, or whatever spell did this had a very strange effect. "Paige…enlighten me. What did you mean by 'oops'?"

"It wasn't my fault! Grams made me!" Paige exclaimed.

Piper scoffed with disbelief. "_Grams_ made you bring Prue here? She's the one who's been saying all along that we couldn't even call Prue's spirit."

"I know, but I swear, I was looking through the Book, about to summon Grams," Paige insisted, her arms folded across her chest. "But then the pages started turning by themselves. I tried to ignore it but Grams was like, 'Read it, Paige. _Now_.' And I think we've both learned that you don't mess with her when she uses that tone."

The entire time she was listening to Paige, Piper kept glancing at her other sister. She couldn't help it. Seeing Prue just standing there within arm's reach was…incredible. "Alright, so Grams had you read a spell. What spell _was_ it, exactly?"

"The 'To Call a Lost Witch' spell," Paige answered.

Shaking her head, Piper replied, "But that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The Prue we know definitely isn't lost…or a witch…"

"What the hell…I'm right here!" Prue interrupted, waving her arms as if testing to see if she was invisible.

Ignoring that, Paige reasoned, "Maybe…maybe she's from the past somehow?"

"No, this Prue seems older…and I know that Prue never would've been able to afford _that_ outfit," Piper argued.

Prue rolled her eyes. "_Hello_? Can you hear me?"

"I just don't get it," Piper muttered to Paige. "Where did she come from?"

Frustrated, Prue put both fingers in her mouth and whistled. When her sisters jumped, she snapped, "Finally! Now, will one of you tell me what's going on? Some warlock traps me on another plane, and when I come back five minutes later you're acting like I've been dead for years."

"Another plane? You didn't mention that!" Piper remarked.

Glaring at her, Prue retorted, "Because you didn't give me a chance! Look, all I know is that the last time I checked, I'm still alive. I was walking to my car after work, and a warlock…who'd been posing as my boss for the past few weeks or so…catches me off guard and sucks me into this portal to another plane. I'm in it for five minutes when I hear Paige casting the spell and…I'm here. Being ignored by you two...who I thought were my sisters."

"Well, I hate to break it to you," Paige replied after a quiet moment. "In _this_ reality, you died ten years ago before I came around, so forgive me if I'm not brimming with sisterly love."

Piper stared at her. "Paige…what did you just say?"

Giving Prue an apologetic frown, Paige replied, "Okay, that sounded a little harsh, but…"

"No, no, that phrase… _in this reality_…" Piper said, considering Paige's words. It did make sense. They'd encountered time traveling before, so why not alternate timelines? "Prue…when Shax attacked…what happened?"

Prue still looked confused, but answered, "Um…Shax, wow, I haven't thought about him in a while. It was just a regular vanquishing, really. It took a while though, because Shax kept disappearing on us…the first time, he nearly killed me and you, but then Leo healed us. We were going to go after him but decided that we weren't going to find him in broad daylight. We waited around until he eventually attacked at the manor again, and just vanquished him with a Power of Three spell. No big deal. Piper…why are you asking me about this?"

Both sisters were surprised when Piper was fighting tears. "That's what we should've done," she whispered. "Why didn't we do that? Why did we have to run after him and screw everything up?"

"Piper, maybe now isn't the time," Paige said gently. She'd been told about the events of that horrible day, and knew what Piper was talking about.

But Prue didn't. "Piper…Piper, honey, you're scaring me. What…"

"This is an alternate timeline, Prue!" Piper cried, hugging her older sister again. "One where you died ten years ago! Shax killed you!" Now she cried not for the joy of seeing her dead sister, but for what could have been, but wasn't. Hearing about what could've been if they made one, single different choice was…heartbreaking.

Seeing that Prue was uncomfortable, Paige took Piper into her arms. "Sweetie, it's okay, everything turned out alright, didn't it?"

"I guess," Piper sobbed. Then she used every bit of self-control she had to get a hold over her emotions and go back to business. "So now I guess…"

"Piper? Paige? Sorry I'm late! One of Coop's assignments took him longer than expected…where are you guys?"

"Up in the attic!" Paige shouted. Noting that Prue's face had gone pale, she asked, "What's with you? You look like you've seen a ghost…then again, that's very possible around here."

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Prue replied, "W-who is that?"

Piper gave her a confused glance. Then it clicked. If Prue knew Paige in her timeline, and it did sound like Piper herself was alive, then that meant their youngest full sister was…_Oh, no. _

Looking at Prue with sympathy in her eyes, Piper explained, "That's Phoebe."

* * *

Phoebe let herself into the manor, already feeling guilty about her breakdown earlier. The other day, she'd been going through a family photo album, and Phoebe started telling little Prue about who she was named after. The experience brought up old feelings of remorse and the usual amount of "if only I"s, but Piper was right. That was ten years in the past, and Phoebe couldn't let it affect her present. She accepted long ago that she would never be able to get closure.

Putting on a warm smile, Phoebe closed the door behind her. Figuring that her sisters were in the kitchen, she yelled, "Piper? Paige? One of coop's assignments took him longer than expected…" she trailed off as she reached the end of the foyer to see the grocery bags on the floor and an empty kitchen. "…where are you guys?"

There was nothing for a moment, then Paige's nervous reply. "Up in the attic!"

_The attic?_ Phoebe thought while she put her purse on the foyer table and climbed the stairs. _What are they doing up there?_ Though the sisters didn't exactly _avoid_ the attic since their demon fighting days were over, it wasn't their number one hang out spot when they happened to be together in the manor. They agreed, somewhat childishly, that all three of them being in the attic together might jinx their demon-free existence.

That thought in her mind, it was with a tentative push that she opened the attic door. Sticking her head in, she said, "Hey, what are you two…oh, God…"

Stunned speechless, Phoebe walked into the attic to get a full view, just to be sure she was really seeing what she thought she was seeing. Paige was comforting an emotional Piper, and a few feet away from them was…Prue. Staring at her like she she'd sprouted a second head.

"Prue?" Phoebe gasped, tears welling in her eyes.

With the same amount of astonishment, Prue exclaimed, "Oh my God, Phoebe!"

The next thing Phoebe knew, she was almost knocked over by her oldest sister. Hugging back just as hard, she wheezed, "Prue…how… are…you here? And…I can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry," Prue laughed, but still kept her hand on her younger sister's arm. "I just…I can't believe it!"

Catching her breath, Phoebe's initial excitement faded and she began to be overwhelmed with questions. Giving Prue a once over, she remarked, "Nice outfit."

"You're not borrowing it," Prue joked, her smile wide.

Phoebe then turned to her other sisters…and was instantly bothered by Piper's crestfallen look. Over the past few years she'd begun to get her powers back, so it was her empathy ability that let her detect the tense and somber mood. In fact, though Prue had been teasing her a moment before, she was now furiously wiping tears from her eyes. "W-what's going on?" Phoebe asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.

Her eyes red and puffy, Piper explained, "G-Grams told Paige to cast the 'To Call a Lost Witch' spell. The Prue you see isn't really our Prue…she's from an alternate timeline where she never died. A warlock had just trapped her in another plane, so she was summoned when Paige read the spell."

"Then why…" Phoebe let out a soft gasp as she put two and two together. "I-In your timeline…I'm dead, aren't I?"

Looking at her boot-clad feet, Prue nodded. "Yeah. You…were killed nine years ago. Piper and I tried to do everything we could to get you back, but we just _couldn't_."

"_That's_ why you're acting like you know me," Paige realized, surprise on her face. "After Phoebe's…untimely demise…you, Piper, and I became the Charmed Ones."

Phoebe shivered. "Can we all please stop talking about my death? It's creeping me out."

For the first time since she entered the room, Piper cracked a small smile. "Yes. Now, before we go downstairs, and…figure this out while we have dinner, there's one thing I have to do first. "Paige," Piper said, pulling her younger sister over to stand opposite her oldest. "This is Prue. Your sister. This isn't exactly how I imagined it, but it needs to be done."

"Well, you've already met me apparently, but…it's nice to finally meet _you_," Paige said, wrapping her oldest sister in a hug.

Phoebe almost winced at the awkwardness emanating from Prue. Though Prue hugged back, it was reluctant and strained. Trading worried looks with Piper, it was obvious to both of them that Prue and Paige's relationship in the alternate timeline was not a positive one. Though they both kept their mouths shut. The last thing either wanted to do was ruin the moment for their baby sister.

Once they broke apart, Prue cleared her throat. "Well, let's get to that dinner you mentioned, Piper. It's been ages since I've been treated to one of your meals."

"From the looks of your clothes, I'm sure you could hire your own personal chef," Phoebe teased, and the sisters chatted on their way down the stairs, Prue closing the attic door behind them.

* * *

"Can someone pass the mashed potatoes, please?" Paige asked. The four were sitting around the dining room table, her and Piper sitting across from the other two. She let out a frustrated groan when none of her sisters replied, too wrapped up in talking about some event of their childhood. Apparently, everything except Prue's death in the alternate timeline was pretty much the same, so the sisters were trying to figure out what childhood memories they shared.

It was a game Paige couldn't play, and she always hated watching sports.

Nudging Piper's shoulder, Paige repeated, "Can you pass the mashed potatoes?"

"Oh, sorry Paige," Piper replied, her focus still on her other sisters as she handed Paige the large bowl. "Oh my God, you know what I just remembered? That time Prue snuck out to meet Andy, and I blackmailed her into doing my chores for a whole month until she broke down and told Grams…"

_Here we go again,_ Paige thought with a groan, stuck stabbing her mashed potatoes with her fork while her sisters gabbed like teenage girls.

She supposed she should be happy that Prue was there. After all, hadn't she been thinking that it would be nice to get a chance to meet her eldest sister? Maybe now she'd get to know Prue the person, beyond the idolizing stories and home movies.

But…if _hearing_ Piper and Phoebe talk about their lost sister excluded her, _this_ felt like she'd been kicked out onto the porch with the door slammed shut behind her. They were all talking like she wasn't there. She'd often imagined this scene in her head, but she never imagined that the two sisters she did know would ignore her like this. It didn't help that Prue avoided eye contact with her like the plague. She wasn't dense; she knew something must have happened between her alternate self and Prue in the other timeline. But even so, the cold treatment hurt.

Well, she had to give one of her sisters credit. Phoebe kept trying to give her reassuring smiles, but they didn't quite reach her eyes. Once in a while she would even address Paige in the conversation, but talk soon turned to other topics.

Piper on the other hand was completely gone. It seemed that having her older sister back reduced her to her "middle sister" role, hanging on to Prue's every word. Paige and even Phoebe might as well have not been there at the table.

Unable to take it anymore, Paige asked in a loud voice, "So Prue, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a photographer for a fashion magazine," Prue answered. "It's called _The Trendsetter_…does it exist in this timeline? Well, if it doesn't, it's kind of a _Cosmo_-like magazine."

"What about other aspects of your life? A husband, any kids?" Piper questioned, taking a sip of her wine.

Prue shook her head. "No, no kids, but I have been married to an actor for a couple of years. You're the family one. You're still married to Leo, and you have three kids – Wyatt, Chris, and…Phoebe."

"Well, in this timeline I only have Chris and Wyatt," Piper explained while Phoebe smiled. "But you never know, I guess."

"What about me?" Paige said. Maybe that would give her a clue as to why Prue had been giving her the cold shoulder all night.

Prue looked down at her food. "I-I'm not really sure. After we defeated the Triad, we don't speak much. You got married, had a kid, and last I heard had gone back to a career as a social worker."

"That's kind of like my life now. Only unlike the alternate me, I actually keep in touch with my sisters," Paige remarked, feeling a surge of anger at her other self. It was ridiculous, she knew, but really, what was her other self _thinking_?

After the awkward silence that followed, Prue turned to Piper. "So, do you still run P3? Your alternate self still runs it full time."

"Full time?" Piper repeated, surprised. "Oh, I still have P3, but I've expanded it to include my own restaurant, and another restaurant in a different part of San Francisco."

Curious, Prue looked at Phoebe. "So, um, you know what happens to you in my time…"

"I'm an advice columnist. I give advice on love," Phoebe answered.

She was about to continue, but then Prue laughed. "_You_ give advice? On love? Wow, you are different in this timeline."

"Not really. I just …settled down," Phoebe chuckled. "It's a long story, but I'm married to a cupid named Coop, and have a young daughter…named Prue "

It was a little more relaxed after that. Paige chatted with the others for a while, then she brought up the topic she knew they were all dreading as they were clearing the table. "Look, I don't mean to be a party pooper, but…we _do_ have to send Prue back. And find the warlock who did this to her…or send her back so she and alternate Piper and me can vanquish him."

"Yeah, she's right. Who knows what he could to do them when they don't have the Power of Three?" Prue reasoned.

"I'm sure they'll be fine in the meantime," Phoebe assured her. "It's late, and who knows how long it could take to figure this out?"

Piper nodded in agreement while she put the dishes in the kitchen sink. "And come on, for the first time in history, all four Halliwell sisters are under one roof. I say we all curl up on the couch and watch a cheesy old horror movie."

"Well, when you put it that way…who's making the popcorn?" Paige asked, relieved that she'd been included in the night of sisterly bonding.


	4. Chapter 2

A/N: _Lets out a deep, calming breath_ Okay, now both my Microeconomics and Modern East Asia midterms are over, yea! So from now until final exams (ugh) I should have time to update my stories fairly regularly. Though since I alternate updating my stories, it can usually take from a few days to over a week between new chapters.

Secondly, I was going to post this last chapter, but the author's note just got too long, lol. I meant to add that now this fanfiction has its own ad on Youtube! I finally figured out how to make a video (you have no idea how hard it is for me to figure out a new program…ugh) on Movie Maker! It was fun, and I think it didn't come out too horrible. Just follow the link on my profile to watch!

Thanks for the reviews, and enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Pulling up to the manor, Detective Billie Jenkins, now in her mid-twenties, stepped out of her sedan and walked up the front path. After six years of knowing the sisters, it still amazed her that they were able to get over her betrayal and accept her as a member of the family.

The acceptance hadn't come quickly though. For months after losing her sister she was an emotional wreck, but the Halliwells didn't trust her enough to let her live in the manor. Until then, she lived off until the money her parents left her, getting a part-time job and trying to earn a scholarship. It was a little over a full semester before Piper let her move into Paige's old room. She didn't blame Piper, though. Billie had been flattered that the eldest sister trusted her that much after all she did. But then again, she came around during the battle and never stopped apologizing and trying to prove herself.

Billie decided to pursue a career as a detective shortly after that. The years she spent looking for her sister took a toll on her. If she could do her small part to help reunite families, then that was what she would do. Along with solving cases, she still kept up a thriving hobby of kicking demon butt. Yes, the demonic world was too chaotic to attack the Charmed Ones, but there were many demons of all levels who were desperate for the chance to kill anything, whether it be human or witch. Attacks didn't happen often but once in a while she walked down dark alleys just to see if anyone was screaming for help.

Tucking her blonde hair behind her ear, she got the door open with her key and stepped into the foyer. Of course she didn't live there any more. In fact, the moment Piper let her back in, she started saving enough money for a small apartment of her own. But like the other sisters, she never had to give back the key. "Paige? Phoebe? Piper? Anyone awake yet?"

While talking to Piper over the phone during the week, the Charmed One mentioned that she was having a sleepover with her sisters, and that Billie was welcome to join them for breakfast in the morning. Billie had been thrilled at the idea. She still saw Paige often since she was Billie's whitelighter, but she hadn't seen Phoebe or Piper in at least a few weeks.

"In here! Hurry up before Phoebe eats the last muffin!"

"Paige! Can I help it if they are fluffy and delicious?"

Chuckling, Billie made her way towards the kitchen. Piper, Leo, and the boys were seated around the side table. Paige and Phoebe sat at the island counter in the middle, arguing over the muffin basket. "Good morning, everyone," Billie said as the others replied with their various greetings.

She stood still when her gaze fell on the raven-haired woman sitting at the counter next to Phoebe. The woman was glaring at her with open hostility and getting out of her seat.

Swallowing the nervous lump in her throat, Billie took a few steps backwards. "Hi! I'm Billie, a friend of the sisters. Who are…_ah_!"

Before she got the question out of her mouth the woman flung out her arm. Billie felt like she were punched in the stomach as she was telekinetically thrown back, skidding along the foyer until she crashed into the manor door. "Ouch! That _hurt_!" Billie snapped, staying on the floor for a few seconds while she caught her breath, all the while glaring at the witch. "What the hell did I ever do to you?"

"Prue! What did you do that for?" Piper exclaimed, rushing passed the addressed woman and helping Billie to her feet.

Prue pointed an accusing finger at the astonished blonde. "Don't help her, Piper! She'll try to kill you!"

"What?" Billie gasped, horrified. Giving Piper a pleading look, she begged, "Piper, you're not seriously listening to whoever this is, are you? You know I'd never do anything to…"

Holding up a silencing hand, Piper assured her, "Billie, it's okay, you're not in trouble. Prue is just…confused. Obviously you never came back to the good side in her timeline."

"Her _timeline_?" Billie exclaimed. She supposed she shouldn't have been too shocked. Whenever she went over to the manor she knew there was always a chance she would be walking into chaos.

Meanwhile, the other sisters had been trying to calm an enraged Prue down. "You mean to tell me that _she_," Prue snapped, again jabbing an accusatory finger in the witch's direction., "is a _friend_ of yours? What exactly happened in this version of the battle against the Triad?"

"What happened in _yours_?" Paige asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Keeping a wary eye on Billie, Prue explained, "We met our Billie about a year before the battle, but she betrayed us when she found her sister. I never thought we should trust her to begin with, but after that…that was it. We summoned the Hallow to destroy each other, but then I had to use a time travel spell from the Book to go back and save Piper and Paige with the help of Mom and Grams since I was the only one who survived. Well, there were some details I won't get into, but since Billie and Christy were witches we decided not to vanquish them, just banished them to the Underworld. Our magic still keeps them down there, last I checked." She then took a steadying breath and gave Billie a semi-apologetic frown. "I guess when Billie walked in I lost my head. Sorry."

"It's okay…I think," Billie said, sure she was more confused than she'd ever been in her life. "I'm sorry, but who _are_ you?"

"Billie, why don't we go sit down and, have a little chat?" Paige asked, directing Billie into the kitchen while the other three went into the living room.

"Hi, Billie," Chris said, giving her a concerned look. "Are you okay? Aunt Prue TK'd you real good."

"It was _awesome_ though," Wyatt remarked around a mouthful of muffin.

"Wyatt!" Leo chided. "Why don't you and Chris finish up and go play in your rooms? I have a feeling it would be best if we made ourselves scarce for the rest of the morning."

"Okay, Dad," the boys chorused, saying good-bye to Billie as they ran up the stairs, Leo following them.

As she and Paige took seats next to each other at the island, Billie sputtered, "Paige, who _was_ that woman? The only thing I've been able to get is that she's a witch from another timeline."

"Alright, this is going to be a little hard to process, but you know Prue, right? Our sister, my half-sister, who died ten years ago?" Paige asked. Billie nodded – she'd heard plenty of stories over the years. With a sigh, Paige continued, "That was her. You see, I accidentally summoned her here from an alternate universe where she never died. Normally I wouldn't have been able to do that by myself, but some warlock trapped her on another plane, so it was easier to pull her here."

Billie's eyes widened. _That_ was new. But it also explained a lot. "_Oh_. O_kay_ then. Um, do you need help vanquishing the warlock after her?"

"We can't," Paige shrugged. "As far as we know, he's still in the other universe. And crossing universes is tough, if not impossible, to do right…in most circumstances, of course. The most we can do now is figure out a way to send Prue back safely. Though we're not sure that's a good idea. The warlock might be there to kill her the second she gets to the other side."

Trying to follow all the information, Billie asked, "But that leaves alternate Piper and…you…and Phoebe without the Power of Three…or Power of Four?"

Paige shook her head. "Power of Three. Phoebe, ah, died in the other timeline – don't ask me how, because Prue hasn't spilled that detail yet. And yes, that would leave alternate Piper and me vulnerable, but…what good it would it do if we send Prue back, only for her to be killed by the warlock once she got there? We've decided for now our best bet is to search for some kind of way all four of us can safely pass through so that we can protect Prue. Which I don't see happening, but we don't have any other ideas."

"So I guess that means Prue is stuck here for now," Billie remarked, then noticed Paige's sullen look once she did. "You're not entirely happy about this, are you?"

Her shoulders sagging, Paige replied, "Sort of. Don't me wrong, I'm grateful for the unexpected chance to meet Prue. And I'm happy for my sisters, who have missed her so much. But…now they're treating me like I don't exist. And in the other timeline, Prue and alternate me hate each other for some reason."

"Aw, Paige, don't let it get to you. Piper and Phoebe, they're just excited to have their sister back. I know if Christy walked through the door I'd be overwhelmed too. As for Prue…well, give her some time to adjust to the new Paige. I'm sure she'll love you once she gets to know you," Billie suggested, giving her whitelighter a reassuring smile.

Paige hesitated for a moment, looking as if maybe she didn't believe her charge. But then she smiled back. "I guess so. It's only been a day, after all. Once everything calms down I'm sure we'll all be fine. Thanks, Billie. I think you really helped."

"Don't sound so surprised," Billie joked, getting off her stool. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to steer clear of Prue for a while. See you later," Billie said, grabbing one of the muffins. Taking a bite as she went out the back door, she groaned with pleasure. "Oh my God, Phoebe was right. These _are_ fluffy and delicious!"

* * *

"I still can't believe you three," Prue admonished while she and her sisters climbed the stairs of the manor later that morning. "Billie _betrayed_ you, tried to kill you…and now you invite her over for breakfast? You've gotten soft without me."

Piper chuckled as she opened the door to the attic. "We were willing to go easy on her since she _did_ end up helping us in the end. But there's no point in thinking about that ."

"Right. We need to focus on getting you back so that alternate me and Piper aren't killed," Paige reminded them, pulling some candles out of one of one of the boxes in which they stored objects they used for spells.

Looking at her sister, Phoebe asked, "Paige…what are you doing? I thought we were coming in here to see if Prue's warlock…or demon…was in the Book."

"I think it would also help if we summoned Grams. After all, she's the one who got us into this mess in the first place," Paige reasoned, setting the four candles in a circle in front of the Book's stand.

Piper raised an eyebrow. "If you think we're going to forget that _you're_ the one who actually read the spell, you're kidding yourself."

"Well, it was worth a shot," Paige muttered.

Staring at her younger sister from her position in front of the Book, Prue marveled at how different Piper was in this timeline. In hers, the middle sister was sarcastic, yes, but also a follower, very unsure of herself. In this universe, Piper was clearly the one in control. Prue was going to have to get used to that. "But summoning Grams isn't a bad idea," Prue remarked. "I'm not sure how 'up there' works when it comes to alternate universes, but maybe she knows something we don't."

Paige gave her a grateful smile. "Yeah! I mean, she obviously knew that saying that spell would bring Prue here…while _I_ had no idea…"

"Give it up, Paige," Phoebe laughed, lighting the circle of candles with a match from the same box.

Clearing her throat, Piper opened the Book and went to the page of the summoning spell. "So, Prue, would you like to do the honors?"

"Sure," Prue agreed, letting out a deep breath. Though it was such a long time since she cast a spell she hoped it still worked.

"'Hear these words, hear my cry  
Spirit from the other side  
Come to me, I summon thee  
Cross now the great divide'"

They all glanced at the circle of candles, but Grams did not appear. Instead, there was a brief swirl of white light that fizzled out before it could form anything.

"That's not supposed to happen," Paige commented.

Giving Prue a thoughtful look, Piper replied, "No, but I thought it might. This morning I was surprised when Prue was able to TK Billie so hard. Her powers would've gotten stronger in her timeline, but I thought for sure since Paige had her TK ability in this timeline she would be powerless."

"But Prue _does_ have her TK ability, as Billie found out," Phoebe said, wrinkling her brow in thought. "Maybe…maybe since the _way_ she crossed timelines was so unusual, her powers responded differently than they normally would. I'm guessing that crossing that plane did something to them. Maybe both Prue and Paige just have less power than they usually would, and are splitting the magic that is allotted to one or the other in this timeline."

Prue and Paige shared bewildered looks, each trying to work out the reasoning in their heads. "I'm sorry, Pheebs, but…run that by me again?" Prue asked.

"I think I get it. Paige…try orbing that rocking chair across the room," Piper suggested, pointing to the mentioned object.

Shrugging, Paige called, "Rocking chair!" She stared in confusion when the rocking chair only half-dissolved in blue lights before reappearing in the same spot. "Hey!"

"Exactly. Now try moving this book," Phoebe told her as she grabbed a small book off a nearby shelf.

Now a little afraid of what her powers might do, Paige called, "Book!" It orbed into her hand with no problem. "Oh, I get it," Paige replied. "It's like, in this universe there's a magic quota that Prue used when she was alive, and that I inherited when she died. But since we're both here now, we're splitting it. Gotcha."

"Wait…Paige can orb things in this timeline?" Prue sighed with exasperation. Just when she thought she had the differences of this universe figured out, another one popped up. "In mine, she can see the future…sort of. Since she's half whitelighter, she sort of orbs there. To others it looks like she's in a trance, but in her head it's like she's orbed to the future."

"That makes sense. Paige has this power because you died, and the third power that was missing was telekinesis. But I guess since, well, we all know what happened to Phoebe…" Piper trailed off, letting them fill in the blanks themselves, while Phoebe squirmed in her position on the couch.

"Well, now that we've got that figured out, let's summon Grams, shall we?" Phoebe said, joining her sisters at the Book.

Prue put a comforting arm around her littlest full sister. In a way, they were each the only ones who realized how awkward this really was for the other. Together, all four chanted,

"'Hear these words, hear our cry  
Spirit from the other side  
Come to us, we summon thee  
Cross now the great divide'"

* * *

Penny Halliwell stood in an area of Elderland, looking at an image in front of her with disgust. It was showing her what the sisters were doing in Prue's timeline, and she didn't like what she saw. "Look at them, Patty! Prue has been missing for almost a whole day and they haven't even realized it!"

Looking at the screen from behind her mother, Patty replied, "But we can't reach the Piper and Paige in that timeline. We have to leave it to our alternate selves."

Shaking her head, Penny reminded her, "They can't force Piper and Paige together, and right now that's what they need. Surely we can help the girls a _little_."

Patty glanced at her mother at that last remark. "Mother…you've already done something, haven't you?"

"Maybe…" Penny trailed off, pretending to be focused on the screen all of a sudden. "Oh, really, how can they not even know she's gone…"

"Mother! What have you done?" Patty exclaimed. Before Penny could stop her, she waved her hand at the screen. It changed to the attic, where Piper, Phoebe, Paige…and Prue were talking.

Shocked, Patty whirled around to face her mother. "_Mother_!" she shrieked, drawing stares from other souls nearby. "How…how…but Prue is…and she _was_…we are breaking _so_ many rules! If the Elders found out about this…oh, Mother, you know how dangerous crossing universes is, what if something happened to Prue?"

"Calm down, will you? The scene you're causing will attract more attention than whatever I did," Penny snapped, causing her daughter to glare at her, but remain silent. "And it really wasn't that big a deal…oh, my…" Penny stopped mid-sentence, feeling a strong magical pull.

When she stumbled from the force, Patty went over to grab her mother's arm. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"They're summoning me, Patty. All four of them," Penny noted, tilting her head in the direction of the screen. "Oh, honestly, what were they thinking? With all that power they could've summoned half of Elderland…"

"Well, go, but when you get back I want an explanation," Patty said.

Penny let the summoning magic overcome her and for an instant she was blinded by white light. At her arrival in the attic, though, she fell through the circle of candles, her daughter on the floor beside her. Glancing at her daughter, then the astonished girls, she chided, "You know, you could've made the circle a little bigger."

"We didn't know you were bringing company," Paige replied, helping her grandmother to her feet.

Phoebe smiled as she did the same for her mother and gave her a hug. "Hi, Mom! Didn't expect to see you!"

"I didn't either," Patty admitted, hugging back. "That was a very powerful summoning spell you girls cast."

"Tell me about it. I think I'm still a little buzzed," Penny added, holding her aching head as she sat on the couch nearby.

Piper chuckled. "I guess our split power theory for Prue and Paige doesn't affect our combined power. Sorry about that. But you _do_ owe us an explanation for why you told Paige to read the spell."

"And please tell them you wouldn't have taken no for an answer! They won't believe me!" Paige exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Yes, don't blame poor Paige," Penny said. "Any of you girls would've done the same, including…Prue." Her eyes welled with tears at the sight of her eldest granddaughter. Prue was standing off to the side, looking uncomfortable. "Look at you, here…" With no regard for Prue's discomfort she wrapped her in a hug.

Hugging back, but with much less zeal, Prue greeted, "Hi, Grams. I-I haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh, I know. Alternate me must be furious," Grams remarked as Prue went on to hug Patty.

"I can't believe it…" Patty almost whispered, one arm around Prue while she looked around at her other daughters. "All four of my girls, together. I never thought I'd live to see the day…"

"You didn't," Penny reminded her with a smirk.

Patty sighed. "It's an expression, alright?"

As the six settled down and took seats on the couch and other chairs, Piper took on a serious expression and asked, "Okay, you two. Not that I'm not thrilled to see my big sister again, but…how is this possible? What's going on here?"

"_I_ have no idea," Patty answered, turning to face her mother while the rest did the same.

"Thanks for the back up, Patty," Penny retorted. She was sitting in the rocking chair, surveying the sight before her with awe on her face. It was…incredible. Just seeing Paige and Prue sitting next to each other on the couch was astounding. "Alright, well, as you four already know, Prue was sucked into another plane by the warlock Ayden Bates…"

"Actually, we didn't know that he was a warlock. Thanks, Grams," Phoebe interrupted with a laugh.

Rolling her eyes at the look Patty gave her, Penny argued, "Well, they're smart girls. They would've figured it out eventually. Anyway, Prue was stuck on this plane, while alternate Paige and Piper had _no_ idea Prue was even missing. And since Ayden had sealed off the connection between the plane and Prue's world, I figured the safest thing to do was…bring her here. It's better she's here than the captive of a warlock."

"Thanks, Grams. That place was driving me crazy. All those flowers…" Prue trailed off with a small shiver of disgust.

Paige chuckled. "It sounds like it could've been worse."

"I don't think so. There's nothing worse than being trapped in 'paradise'," Prue explained.

Taking in the information, Piper reasoned, "So, wait…'up there' you can see what's going on in all universes at the same time? What about those other universes – witches die there, too. Where do _they_ go?"

"They have their own version of 'up there'," Patty explained. "We can _see_ other universes, but inter-universe travel or interference is strictly forbidden, even when it comes to spirits. It's too easy for any little rift to have huge consequences."

"That's not good. How are we going to send Prue back, then? We can't send her alone – she could be killed the minute Ayden realizes she escaped," Phoebe groaned, looking at her eldest sister with worry.

Determined, Piper assured her, "We'll find a way. I'm not letting alternate me and Paige go through what we went through. They've already lost one sister. They're not going to lose their Prue like we lost ours."

"Maybe we can communicate with our alternate selves somehow," Paige thought aloud, giving Piper a one-armed hug. "Get them to be there to protect or help Prue once she goes through the other plane. We _are_ the Charmed Ones, right? If anyone can do it, it's us."

"And now we have the Power of Four," Phoebe added.

"That's the spirit, girls. You'll do fine. And if you don't need us, your mother and I do have to go back. Blessed be," Penny said, and she and Patty disappeared in a swirl of white orbs.


	5. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm back, everyone! After months of finals and holidays and other fanfictions to finally get done, this story is at the top of my to-do list. It's taken a while to get back into this story, but I think I managed to write a pretty good chapter. Sorry for the long wait. Also, thank you _so_ much for all the reviews - you have no idea how awesome this is for me.

One minor note - in all the other future stories I've read, Henry Jr. is younger than the twins. For some reason, I thought he was older. Sorry for the goof - if it is, in fact, a goof - but I like how I have it now.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"I don't like this," Piper muttered, wiping down the bar at P3 with more vigor than required. She couldn't help herself, though. Her older sister, who was supposed to be dead, sat on the usual couch talking to a strange man who was hitting on her. As Piper had predicted, the man walked away with his head hung in disappointed.

Taking a sip of her wine, Phoebe argued, "Come on, in this reality, Prue's been dead for years. I doubt even your most faithful customers would remember her. _Relax_." At Piper's incredulous look, she added, "Just try, okay?"

"Well, Phoebe, I'm sorry if I'm not at my calmest when my dead sister is over there turning down every eligible bachelor in San Francisco!" Piper let out in a rushed breath. When another bar patron glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, she gave him a weak smile. "Hi, how you doin'? Drink?"

Phoebe chuckled as her sister got the patron's order. "Look, we did everything we could today, didn't we?"

"Not really," Piper answered, leaning on the bar. Tonight was one of the many nights that she stayed at P3. Though she now owned two restaurants, P3 still had a special place in her heart. It was safe to say that she spent more time there than the other two. "Yeah, we tried looking through the book for Ayden, but we didn't get anything done. Between work and our kids, finding time to sit down and think was near impossible. When we _did_ find time, we reverted to giggly teenagers because we were so happy to have Prue around. Let's face it – we can't do this evil fighting thing like we used to. And having Prue back doesn't help."

Looking down at her drink, Phoebe asked in a quiet, hurt voice, "So you don't like having her here?"

"I didn't say that, and you know it. I love her as much as you do, but…it's not like she's here just to spend some quality time. As long as she's here, that means there's a warlock that has to be vanquished," Piper answered, trying to keep the exasperation out of her response. Ever since Prue arrived, Phoebe had begun acting almost like her former childish, irresponsible self. While Piper may have been able to tolerate it more than Prue back then, now she saw why it so irritated her older sister.

Phoebe played with the plastic umbrella in her drink, a faraway look on her face. "Though it isn't like Prue is _back_, so to speak. It's definitely a different Prue."

Tapping her fingers on the bar top with impatience, Piper replied, "Phoebe, did you hear a word I said?"

"I mean, just look at her," Phoebe went on, ignoring the question. "It's sad really. The Prue I remember used to love coming to P3 all the time. That Prue is…bored, no spark in her eye whatsoever. She's not as confident as our Prue either. I saw her check her compact mirror more than a few times. The Prue we knew would go to the bathroom to use the mirror maybe _once_ the whole night, and that was only if you told her she had a martini olive in her teeth."

Piper opened her mouth to retort, but another glance at Prue made her stop and think. Her younger sister's observations were spot on, unfortunately. While the Prue she knew was never the fun-loving sister, there used to always be a high energy, determined presence around her. Now it was replaced by nervous anxiety and forced confidence. "I wonder what happened to her…" she finally said, continuing to stare at Prue.

Ever the intuitive one, Phoebe reasoned, "I think it's her life in general. You heard her today, talking about a demanding job and inattentive husband. And she doesn't have us to turn to anymore to release any pent up frustration, like the old Prue did. That's enough to bring down even the strongest of people."

"I know what you mean. I want to be there for her now…but I can't. Even though we were all _acting_ like sisters today, there was just something missing," Piper said. Feeling tears welling up, she held them back and went to firm determination instead. "Well, we're going to have to fix that before we send her back, aren't we?"

Phoebe looked at her with a wary eye. "I'm up for it…but…how?"

"I don't know, but we'll figure out some way to get her head on straight again," Piper answered, her hand on her hip.

"Oh, you have your scheming face on," Phoebe said with a nod of approval. "Me like. Though remember, this _is_ Prue we're dealing with here."

Piper shrugged. "I might have been afraid of the old Prue. But this Prue…she needs our help, and we're going to give it to her, whether she wants it or not."

They looked up as Prue came over and sat at the bar. "Hey…what are you two smiling about?"

"Nothing," they replied at the same time, their secretive grins gone in an instant.

Though still suspicious, Prue dismissed it and said, "Look, I think I'm going to head back to the Manor. Your club is great, Piper, but there's only so many times you can say 'no, thank you, I have a husband.'"

"I don't get it. Don't you have a wedding ring?" Phoebe asked, looking at her sister's hands as she did so.

Prue shook her head. "Charlie and I decided it would be better for both our images if we didn't. Half our fan base is made up of horny members of the opposite gender. It's more important to his acting career, but I went along with it."

At that, Piper traded worried glances with Phoebe, sure they were both thinking the same thing. Prue was in worse shape than they thought.

* * *

Letting himself into the house, Henry Mitchell walked into the foyer and called, "Paige?" Where there was no answer, he moved into the living room. He paused when he found her fast asleep on the couch. The scene wasn't uncommon, yet Henry still found himself staring at her with a mix of shock and dread.

_It_ was in the house.

Swallowing the nervous lump in his throat, Henry, with some reservation, went to stand over the Book of Shadows. It was wide open, spread face down over Paige's stomach as she slept. He had to wonder how she could possibly sleep with that huge book on her body.

But it wasn't the weight of the Book making him worry. If _it_ was lying on her stomach, then that meant she'd been reading it. Which _had_ to mean she was using it to look up whatever piece of demonic hell from the Underworld was currently trying to kill her.

Henry let out a deep breath and took the Book off in one swift movement. Before he could put it back on the coffee table, a picture on the page caught his eye. Giving Paige a quick look to make sure she was in deep sleep, he sat on the arm of the couch and read the page.

_Ayden Bates_, Henry read. A shiver ran down his spine as he looked at the picture of the warlock. While he'd seen some nasty demons in his day, the warlocks always scared him the most _because_ they seemed so normal. Like the others he'd seen, this warlock appeared human. It was hard to distinguish the details from the grainy black and white sketch. However, Henry could tell that the warlock appeared to be in his forties, with trimmed hair. A muscular build was covered in a suit that looked like something from the 1960's.

After a moment of examination, Henry turned his focus on the text next to the picture.

_Over five hundred years old, Bates finally rose to power in the mid-1900's. Using his natural cunning, he gathered a following of warlocks in an effort to reclaim the Underworld from the demons in control…_

:"Are you reading the _Book_?"

At the sound of his wife's surprised voice, Henry jumped up from the couch. The Book slid from his lap and landed on the hardwood floor with a deafening, tell-tale _thud_. Still, Henry grinned at her. "No, not at all."

"Liar," Paige said, but kissed him hello as she sat up on the couch. She picked up the Book from where it fell by his feet. "So, whatcha' readin'?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Henry answered, settling down on the couch next to her.

"Oh, just your usual warlock entry," Paige explained, opening the Book to the page she had been reading. "There's no vanquishing spell though, so we'll have to wing it."

Sighing, Henry remarked, "A warlock? After five years with barely any attacks? What's going on?"

"This guy," Paige answered, pointing to the picture. "Comes from an alternate reality. In that reality, Prue – you know, my half-sister who died before I found my family – is still alive…"

Henry tried to follow Paige as she told the story of what had happened yesterday and this morning, he really did. But he'd already been confused beyond repair at the mere mention of alternate realities. "You know what, I think we'll keep to our usual way of doing things. You handle whatever evil is trying to take over the world, and I pretend it isn't happening."

"Oh, come on, this isn't _that_ weird. Chris coming back from the future to keep Wyatt from turning evil – _that_ was weird," Paige replied, still reading the Book.

Raising an eyebrow, Henry stared at his wife. He'd heard brief mention of that, but he never got the whole story. While he supposed he could've asked, he just shook his head. "Okay then. By the way – where's Henry?"

"In time out. He orbed when he wasn't supposed to, and we both agreed we were going to crack down on that, right?" Paige asked.

Henry nodded. Since his son was only four, he'd tried to be a little lenient when it came to power misuse. After all, dealing with powers at such a young age couldn't be easy. But he decided to buckle down after Henry Jr. orbed him to Mexico. "Si."

Chuckling, Paige closed the Book and sighed. "I guess I better get this back, just in case one of them comes home from the club early. The Book really shouldn't leave the Manor."

"The club?" Henry asked with confusion. Usually, the sisters didn't hang out at Piper's club when there was a warlock on the loose.

Paige made an odd aggravated noise as she shifted the Book's position in her arms. "Apparently tracking down a warlock isn't as important as _sisterly bonding_ and _catching up_."

"Honey, are you okay?" Henry asked, noting the sarcastic manner of her response.

"Yeah, fine," Paige snapped. "Be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," Henry said, then watched in never-ceasing amazement as his wife orbed out of the living room.

* * *

Prue climbed the stairs of the Manor after arriving home from the club, itching to get into any comfortable outfit she could find. Usually she didn't mind getting dressed up – as a celebrity, she was used to long hours in a tight dress and heels. But between spending the day with her sisters and trying to think of ways to get back home, all she wanted to do was curl up on the living room couch and look through the Book.

_This feels so strange,_ Prue thought. No, the sensation wasn't from being in an alternate reality. In her years as a Charmed One, nothing magical struck her as odd anymore. This feeling came from just being in the Manor. In her reality, she visited her sister at the Manor maybe six times a year, tops. Here, she was expected to call it home like the other sisters clearly did, even though two of them moved out.

Curious, she stopped when she realized she was opposite the door of her old room. She was used to it being little Phoebe's room. Since here, little Phoebe didn't exist, Prue wondered what it was. Without thinking, she pushed open the door.

"Hey!"

Startled, Prue closed the door. Then she realized it was Chris who had shouted and slowly opened the door again. "Hi, sorry about that. I was just curious…"

"It's okay, Aunt Prue," Chris said. The seven-year-old was sitting at his desk using his computer, but had stopped and looked at her while he spoke "I thought you, Mom, and the aunts were going to the club."

"Yeah, well, I decided to come home a little early. Shouldn't you be in bed?" Prue asked, coming into the room uninvited. It was a typical boy's room – a twin bed sat in the corner, opposite a full bookcase. The walls were decorated with personal pictures, and action figures littered the floor.

Shaking his head, Chris answered, "No, I'm allowed to stay up until ten on weekends."

_Wow, I _am_ home early,_ Prue thought, checking her watch. Sure enough, it wasn't even nine yet. _No wonder Piper and Phoebe were worried._ "Oh. So…what are you doing?"

"Magic School homework," Chris said with a shrug. "Wy is downstairs in the sunroom playing video games, so I figured I might as well get it done."

Noticing that he wasn't exactly engaged in the conversation, Prue started to walk towards the door. "That's good. Homework is good."

"Yeah."

"Okay then…'night," Prue said, pausing as she was about to leave.

There was no sign of any intention to stop her as Chris went back to his computer. "Good night, Aunt Prue."

Prue closed the door behind her, then leaned against it as she stood in the deserted hallway. "Wow," she whispered. Piper's kids were definitely not your usual kids. She never spent time with her nephew, so to just come into his room had been a little awkward. And then to see him doing Magic School homework as if it were nothing, and chatting with her as if it were nothing special…It amazed her that at that age, Chris had a major tolerance for the strange events that often happened to their family.

"Prue?"

Surprised for the second time in five minutes, Prue looked up to see Leo standing. "Oh, hey Leo."

"Are you alright?" Leo asked, leaning against the wall next to her. "What are you doing home so early?"

Giving him a reassuring smile, Prue answered, "No reason, just didn't feel like staying. And I thought it might be easier to get some work done on dealing with our current magical problem if I was on my own."

Leo nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean –I saw you all earlier. In their defense…they're just excited to see you. I'm sure by tomorrow they'll be ready to settle down and figure this out."

"I can't wait that long," Prue replied, for the first time confessing feelings she'd been holding back all day. "Leo…being around Phoebe, Piper, and Paige made me realize something. This is awful to say, but when I first got here, I thought about _me_ and how am _I_ going to get back so _I_ can vanquish the warlock. Now, after seeing them jump in to help, I dawned on me that my sisters are in real danger. I know I said that they could be…but it just didn't register…Leo, I _have_ to get back. And I can't do it if Piper and Phoebe don't start focusing on the warlock instead of me."

"Maybe you should tell them that," Leo suggested, a sympathetic frown on his face.

Letting out a deep sigh, Prue said, "I think I'm going to have to." With that, she went into Piper's room to find some comfortable clothes to wear.

Prue was dressed in sweatpants and a tank-top five minutes later as she entered the living room. _Now, the Book was right over…hey, where'd it go?_ Prue thought, looking around for the Book that was normally hard to miss. She was bent over, searching under the couch when the room was illuminated by a blue glow.

"Prue?"

"Ouch!" Prue exclaimed, the question causing her to hit her head on the couch's underside. Rubbing the spot, she saw that Paige stood before her…holding the Book. "So that's where that was…"

Giving her a guilty smile, Paige handed over the Book as Prue stood up. "I'm sorry, I had to watch Henry, but I wanted to look through the Book…since we didn't get much done today."

"It's alright, I was just about to do that myself," Prue replied, shifting the Book in her arms. Then there was the mother of all awkward moments while both stood there, not really sure what to say. In fact, Prue's mind filed it away as moment against which to measure all future awkward moments.

Rocking back and forth on her heels, Paige said, "So…I, uh, better be going…."

"Unless you want to stay," Prue blurted before she registered what she was saying. "We both want to work on this, right?"

Paige hesitated, but it was clear that she was touched by the offer. "U-Um…sure. Let me just go call Henry and tell him I'll be home later."

"Okay," Prue replied. When Paige left the room to make the call, Prue smiled to herself as she opened the Book and began looking for the right entry.


End file.
